Landscape and planning studio SCAPE has announced the addition of architects BIG to a new adaptive reuse project in southern Fairfield County, Connecticut, called Manresa Island. 

The project, which is set to reimagine a decommissioned coal-fired power plant into a new 125-acre public park in the city of Norwalk, intends to elevate the site’s endemic wetlands and biodiversity while creating a range of opportunities for dining and recreation. 

Three buildings — the two 22,000-square-foot boiler and turbine towers and a 8,200-square-foot office component — will be redeveloped through the effort, added to by SCAPE’s master planning and landscape contribution, and connected via a newly unearthed scenic waterway. 

The project's features include an expansive green lawn and meadow with a public beach. A 1.75-mile tract of waterfront access will be created, offering residents an alternative to the oft-crowded Sherwood Island State Park a few miles away.

SCAPE's founder, Kate Orff, says it will set a new "benchmark for the adaptive reuse of industrial sites and waterfronts globally."

BIG founder Bjarke Ingels commented: "Manresa Island is set to become a much-needed foothold for the public along the otherwise rather privatized Connecticut coastline. With our vision for the power plant, we seek to rediscover and reanimate the majestic spaces hidden within the bones of the decommissioned piece of infrastructure."

He added: "Boilers, silos, and turbine halls are postindustrial cathedrals awaiting exploration and reinterpretation. As an extension of SCAPE’s resettlement of the island for the enjoyment of human life among many other forms of life, we seek to extend that resettlement into the cavernous spaces within. By editing rather than adding, we will open up and clear out the existing spaces so that the once coal-powered plant can become the framework for the social and cultural life of Manresa's future — from energy infrastructure to social infrastructure."

The plan covers a total of 250,000 square feet and will include research partnerships with local universities. Atelier Ten is listed as a collaborator. A press release stated it will be ready in time for a public opening in 2030.